urhajos:

True Colours

(via amodernmanifesto)

At a meeting this weekend, hundreds of tribal and religious leaders issued a statement urging the Pakistani government not to attack the North Waziristan Agency, despite repeated US demands to attack the area.

The meeting was also attended by commanders loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a top militant commander in the region who has signed a nonaggression pact with the Pakistani military, but whose members have often been targeted by US drones.

Pakistani officials have not announced an imminent offensive, but it is believed to be the case by some locals, and local officials have confirmed thousands of civilians are fleeing the area in case of an attack.

The tribal elders urged civilians not to panic, and to remain in their homes until specific announcements about any offensives were made. The Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan had claimed last week that an offensive was to begin today, but so far there are no indications of it.

(Source: jayaprada, via theamericanbear)

"Those killed by the US Forces included a young Iraqi photojournalist and his assistant, a father out with his children and some neighbours who were caught in the attack while trying to help the wounded."

Permission to Engage: Victims’ families and an ex-US soldier unpick the Wikileaks film that showed US forces killing Iraqi civilians in 2007.

I will never forget that video leaked by Wikileaks of the US Apache opening fire on innocent Iraqi civilians - and then laughing.

“Come on, let us shoot! Come on! Alright, hahaha. I hit ‘em.” 
“Light ‘em all up. C’mon. Fire. Keep shootin’.” 
“Haha, look at all those dead bastards.”

It still sends chills down my spine. Ex-US soldier who is interviewed by Al Jazeera says how he was affected by 9/11 and the ideological warfare that was encouraged by the US Government and media: “I would follow random Muslims in malls to see what they were doing. I would try to [get them to fight with me]. ‘Cause I hated them! I wanted to go kill terrorists. I wanted to go kill Muslims.” Later on the same soldier says his eyes opened when he saw the aftermath of the US Apache’s attack on Iraqi civilians. Imagine how painful it is for the victim’s parents to narrate the tragedy like a father does in the video. Watch the conversation between the ex-American soldier and a student who wants to enlist in the army. Listen to the regret in the soldier’s voice while describing the scene where the Iraqi child had glass in her belly, glass in her hair, the dying Iraqi father who tried protecting his children from the US Apache.

Imagine what would happen if a foreign force opened fire on harmless civilians in, say, a neighborhood or even a super market in USA mistaking simple cameras for weapons or opening fire because “the weapon held was anti-USA.” Apologies never bring the dead back. This is your Global War on Terror.

(via mehreenkasana)

Powerful. Important. Must Read/See. 

(Source: english.aljazeera.net, via mehreenkasana)

occupytvnews:otpglobal:

Congressional Probe: Cover-Up of “Auschwitz-like” Conditions at U.S.-Funded Afghan Hospital

“A Congressional investigation has revealed a top U.S. general in Afghanistan sought to stall an investigation into abuse at a U.S.-funded hospital in Kabul that kept patients in ‘Auschwitz-like’ conditions. Army whistleblowers revealed photographs taken in 2010, which show severely neglected, starving patients at Daoud Hospital, considered the crown-jewel of the Afghan medical system where the country’s military personnel are treated.

The photos show severely emaciated patients, some suffering from gangrene and maggot-infested wounds. The general accused of the cover-up is Lt. General William Caldwell, one of the nation’s highest-ranking commanders in Afghanistan, who served as the commander of the $11.2 billion-a-year Afghan training program.”

Democracy Now! speaks to Michael Hastings, contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine and a reporter for BuzzFeed, which has been following the story closely. Also some discussion of OWS, DHS and WikiLeaks.

Members of our military turned a blind eye to this for quite a while. Patients going through surgery without anesthesia? really? No food? Medical instruments left in wounds. Maggots crawling out of bandages …

navy

(Source: youtube.com, via theamericanbear)

fuckyeahlatinamericanhistory:

Nelson A. Miles (1839-1925) was Commanding General of the United States Army during the Spanish-American War. A veteran of the US Civil War and the Indian Wars, Miles led the US invasion of Puerto Rico, landing in the town of Guánica on July 25, 1898. 

(Source: fylatinamericanhistory, via fylatinamericanhistory)

william1in100:

Linen Armor

There is a new idea that the army of Greece commanded by Alexander the Great wore armor made of linen. This linen armor was a build up of glued layers of linen that was then formed into a suit of armor. This was more lighter than the metal armor, giving it the added benefit of allowing more stealthy and/or rapid movement when necessary. This linen armor also with unbelievable is able to deflect arrows that are shot for a bow. Also this has been tested against bronze armor with the same thickness of the armor of the time; this was proved that the linen armor is more affective that the bronze. The bronze armor is no match against a arrow.

(Source: , via pieceinthepuzzlehumanity-deacti)

fuckyeahlatinamericanhistory:

Tito Puente was a World War II veteran, and went to Juilliard on the GI Bill.

(Source: fylatinamericanhistory)

"Abbas Abid, a 48-year-old engineer from Fallujah in Iraq had his fingernails removed by pliers. Ali Shalal was attached with bare electrical wires and electrocuted and hung from a wall. Moazzam Begg was beaten, hooded and put in solitary confinement. Jameelah was stripped and humiliated, and was used as a human shield whilst being transported by helicopter."

It’s Official; George W Bush is a War Criminal via Foreign Policy Journal.

Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their legal advisers Alberto Gonzales, David Addington, William Haynes, Jay Bybee and John Yoo were tried in absentia in Malaysia. The trial held in Kuala Lumpur heard harrowing witness accounts from victims of torture who suffered at the hands of US soldiers and contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Finally. Now treat him like it.

(via mehreenkasana)

(via pieceinthepuzzlehumanity-deacti)

mehreenkasana:

This is the story of Omar Deghayes, an innocent British-Libyan who spent nearly six years at Guantanamo in isolation

Interview and Feature by Fahad Faruqui for Express Tribune

One day, nearly 50 armed men, with the slogan ‘NO FEAR’ emblazoned on their jackets, stormed into his villa, handcuffed him, and took him to a fortress-like prison in Islamabad. During this period of incarceration, he was taken to a house to meet officials from US and UK agencies before being transported back to prison. This happened numerous times.

“They’d ask questions like: Why were you in Afghanistan? Where were you in Afghanistan? Did you meet Osama bin Laden? Do you know anyone from alQaeda?” said Deghayes.

[…]

“This was one thing that infuriated all the inmates,” said Deghayes. “They would take a copy of the Holy Quran, and throw it in a toilet, or on the floor. Sometimes you would come back to your cell and find boot stains or abusive words written inside the Quran.”

[Continued]

Here’s an instance of American “security measures.”

wow. everyone must read this. definition of inhumane. it’s disgusting. 

occupyallstreets:

Afghanistan War Is Now More Unpopular Than Iraq War

According to a New York Times poll, 69 percent of Americans think the U.S. shouldn’t be waging the Afghanistan war. That reinforces the findings of a recent Pew poll, in which nearly six-in-ten respondentssupported bringing U.S. troops home ASAP. It’s a major hemorrhage of support. Just a few weeks ago, the war was merely unpopular, with 54 percent saying it wasn’t worth fighting.

The new low represents the crossing of a certain psychological and cultural threshold. It means the Afghanistan war is now at least as unpopular as the Iraq war was at the height of public ire. In fact, by some measures, the war to beat the Taliban — the guys who gave safe harbor to the 9/11 terrorists — is now more unpopular than the one to get rid of Saddam and his alleged stockpiles of WMDs.

Take a look at what Pollingreport.com tallies for the Iraq war. During Iraq’s darkest days, in 2006, CNN’s poll registered opposition to the war in the high 50s or low to mid 60s. It took until the week George W. Bush announced the surge, in January 2007, for opposition to reach 67 percent. At no time between 2006 and 2011 did the poll register 69 percent opposition.

Read More

(via sans-nuage)

cultureofresistance:

Free Bradley Manning DC Metro

Fundraiser for an outdoor billboard in Washington, DC

(via sans-nuage)